Ohio Offsets $19 Million In Federal Cuts to Schools

The Ohio Department of Education says the state is redirecting $19 million to help school districts offset federal budget cuts.

Ohio Superintendent Richard Ross announced Monday that $11 million in unused federal funds will go for special education and another $8 million for Title 1 math and reading intervention programs. The money is coming from untapped special project funds and money that had been awarded to now-closed charter schools.

Ross said school districts had been making preparations for the triggering of the automatic spending cuts under federal sequestration. But he said Ohio wanted to minimize the impact.

Overall, Ohio's federal support to K-12 education will be cut $65.7 million, or more than 5 percent. Monday's reallocation takes the percentage cut to 3.6 percent on average.